contemptuous

adj.
Manifesting or feeling contempt; scornful.

contemptuously con·temp'tu·ous·ly adv.
contemptuousness con·temp'tu·ous·ness n.

Is President Bush's new domestic policy advisor, Karl Zinsmeister, piquant (appealingly provocative) or full of contempt? Depends on how you spin it. Recently, reporter Helen Thomas asked White House press secretary Tony Snow:

"Why did the President pick a man who is so contemptible of the public servants in Washington to be his Domestic Advisor -- saying, 'People in Washington are morally repugnant, cheating, shifty human beings'? Why would he pick such a man to be a Domestic Advisor?"

The press secretary corrected the doyenne's vocabulary, then zinged her back:

"You meant contemptuous, as opposed to contemptible, I think... [Zinsmeister] is somebody who expresses himself with a certain amount of piquancy -- you're perhaps familiar with that, aren't you, Helen?"

Link: Press Briefing by Tony Snow

Posted June 6, 2006.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

adjective

Showing scorn and disrespect toward (someone or something): disdainful, scornful. Idioms: on one's high horse. See respect/contempt/standing.

adj

Definition: arrogant, insolent
Antonyms: humble, polite, respected, shy

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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - hånlig

Nederlands (Dutch)
ver-/minachtend

Français (French)
adj. - dédaigneux, méprisant

Deutsch (German)
adj. - verächtlich, geringschätzig

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - περιφρονητικός, καταφρονητικός

Italiano (Italian)
sprezzante

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - desdenhoso

Русский (Russian)
презрительный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - despreciativo, desdeñoso, despectivo

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - föraktfull

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
轻蔑的, 瞧不起人的, 侮辱的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 輕蔑的, 瞧不起人的, 侮辱的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 모욕적인, 경멸하는

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 人をばかにした, 軽蔑的な, 軽蔑して

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مستهين ب, مستحقر, مستخف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮בז‬

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